"Learning is the Work"

I am experimenting with a new format for communicating with you: a Looking Forward blog to replace my weekly column.  

At the end of each entry, I will include FAQ that has come to my attention. (Please email your questions to me at rrosenheck@hacdalbany.com. I will strive to incorporate them in a growing FAQ compilation.)



My starting point today is the words of organizational change maven Michael Fullan, who writes, "Learning is the work."  And so it is at Hebrew Academy, among the children and the adults on whose learning I am focusing today. 



Our assessment format has changed from grades to narratives in our K-7 classes, and our faculty is exploring how best to paint the portrait-in-words of your child(ren)'s learning. Julie Pollack, Patty Balmer, the teachers, and I are working collaboratively to ensure that each of their descriptive reports is clear, accurate, and revealing, and that it relates to the standards and goals to which the student is being held. Once you've read them, we look forward to your feedback.



We have learned that without the information once provided by homework, tests and grades, parents were getting less information, and so we began seeking alternative approaches to keep parents looped in regularly. I know that many have started to see the results of these efforts already.

As for me, the educational leader, I am also seeking clearer and even more transparent modes of communication. It is understandably scary to let go of the familiar "code language" of grades and grade level. Yet that is what I ask of each parent.  Our teachers have the talent, skill and perseverance to bring out the best in each of their students. I believe you will discover that this daring approach, taken on wisely with this profoundly skilled faculty and with strong leadership support, prepares students for successful future learning and work far better than the "sort and label" industrial-age model of graded classes and graded children.




FAQ ~ How will high schools know in which classes to place Hebrew Academy students in ninth grade?

A ~  Several of the local high schools’ guidance counselors asked that we retain the traditional grading system in eighth grade. They affirmed that descriptive assessment prior to that year will have no negative impact on placement decisions for high school classes. As preparation for their transition to high school, our 8^th grade will be a stand-alone (not multi-age) class, with Regents coursework and subject grades from which the high schools can easily make placement decisions. The schools' guidance counselors already understand that a Hebrew Academy education gives students a solid foundation for high school; as we communicate with them about our new approach, we are confident that they will be even further impressed.